Outlander – “Through A Glass, Darkly” Review. Vive les Frasers!

Season 2, Episode 1

Air Date: Saturday, April 9, 2016 at 9PM ET/PT on Starz

Rating: ★★★★★

“I wished I were dead. And if I’d kept my eyes shut, I could have almost touched the edges of oblivion. But I’d made a promise—and had to keep it—even if it meant living a life I no longer wanted.” — Claire Randall Fraser

The writers drop us back into the world of Outlander but not as we might expect. Time has shifted yet again and we are left with many questions about Claire Randall Fraser’s (Caitriona Balfe) current situation. Is she where she wants to be because she chose to be there? What’s happened that has left her so discombobulated? And where in the hell is her 18^th century hubby, Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan)?

Welcome Back

How exciting to see Claire's smiling face. She's seen so much bad that you'd think she'd never have a reason to be happy again.

How exciting to see Claire’s smiling face. She’s seen so much bad, you’d think she’d never have a reason to be happy again.

If you’ve forgotten who Claire is, she only needs a few minutes to remind you: she’s the hero(ine) of her story. She doesn’t need a champion. Of course, Claire ends up with one because this has some basis in romance, but a man isn’t needed to complete her tale. Any hero in Claire’s life is simply an embellishment on the awesomeness she exudes. Claire is the brave, courageous, and intelligent woman who won’t back down when she believes in something. The entire hour of “Through A Glass, Darkly” resets the stage of what this character is like. Not only that, Balfe shines as Claire, having grown into the feisty British female we’ve come to know, making her loveable and all too realistic.

The Crux

“Frank. Hello. I’m back.” What a curious greeting Claire poses to her husband, Frank Randall (Tobias Menzies). Too bad he reminds her of another Randall she’d rather not have to think about, see, or touch. It has to be quite shocking to come face to face with a man who looks so much like the villain she’s finally escaped, even knowing Frank isn’t anything like his doppelganger. You have to wonder, too, whether Claire is thinking Frank shouldn’t be alive if Captain Jonathan Randall (Menzies) perished like we saw in the season one finale, “To Ransom A Man’s Soul.” Oh, the wonders of time travel and all that jazz. There will be time (har, har) and more to ponder about the years Claire has been missing, the present that has passed while she was away, and what’s happening in the meantime. Confused much? The past and present tend to coincide in this instance, bringing about interesting story arcs I can’t wait to see explored.

I can already tell I won’t like Le Comte St. Germain very much. He has no idea who he’s messing with.

You’d think Claire would be happy to see her husband again but she looks as if she would rather have a red hot poker jammed in her eye. There is a slight shift in the storyline here as far as the timeline goes but it shouldn’t throw the story off track. I’m not sure why the change has been made but I’m assuming it has to do with giving us more of the story than what is in the second novel in the “Outlander” series, “Dragonfly in Amber.” But I digress. Frank is still the doting husband, even after learning where Claire has been for the last “two years.” I’m curious to see how this part of the story pans out because there are a few differences from the novel I notice already. Menzies is phenomenal in this role, as his facial expressions tell all when he faces a truth no man wants to accept about his wife. I believe his tears are real; Frank’s anger becomes a character of its own as he physically shakes with rage. What an amazing scene! Well played by both Menzies and Balfe. As an aside, I get creepy vibes coming from Frank with the slight maniacal undertones of “Black Jack” Randall shining through. His tone of voice and “conditions” he puts forth to Claire are a reminder of how manipulative Black Jack could be. Yet another nod to Menzies’ spectacular ability as an actor.

Quotes

Mrs. Graham to Claire: “You have had an extraordinary adventure, Claire, extraordinary. One that few people could even imagine. Treasure it; keep it safe and secure tucked away in some special place in your heart. Don’t spend the rest of your days chasing a ghost. Not when there’s a man, a real flesh and blood living man who loves you still, with all his heart.”

Well, if Claire told Mrs. Graham (Tracey Wilkinson) that the living man bears a striking resemblance to a sadistic rapist, would she reconsider her thoughts on him?

Frank to Reverend Wakefield: “Forgive me.”

Frank says this quite a lot. I wonder what all he needs to be forgiven for, especially by Reverend Wakefield (James Fleet).

Claire to Frank, offering up her acceptance of his conditions to forget her other husband: “I promised him [Jamie] I would. He made me promise that I would let him go. So I will.”

Hmm… under what circumstances was this promise made and how can anyone forget Jamie?

Claire to Jamie: “Since when were you not up for a challenge?”

How simple a task for Claire to convince both her husbands of what she believes to be true. She is the ultimate politician.

Overall

While Murtagh may feel left out in the Frasers’ scheme, he’ll always have their backs.

While I’m not blown away by “Through A Glass, Darkly” as a season premiere, I understand the need for a low impact episode. We are reintroduced to the characters, and see where things might be heading. The change in format for this season will be flashbacks to the past instead of the other way around. Claire is telling her story again but is this what she’s told Frank or how she is remembering it as she pines for her other husband? It will be interesting to see how things play out knowing Claire has gone back to the future and Jamie is dead (?) in the past.

Drop me a line in the comments section or tweet me @ellemoe to discuss “Through A Glass, Darkly.” Outlander airs Saturdays at 9PM ET/PT, only on Starz. For more on the show, visit the official site.

Follow Outlander on Twitter, using #Outlander and don’t forget the cast Sam Heughan – @SamHeughan, Caitriona Balfe – @caitrionambalfe, Tobias Menzies – @TobiasMenzies, Laura Donnelly – @donnellylaura1.

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Elle

Writer, mother, realist, cloud lover, daydreamer, dessert enthusiast, sweet tea addict, perfectionist, and lover of life and Christ, but not in that order. http://www.fanfiction.net/~vikingloverelle